Where To Make And Print Personalized Labels Online For Free

One of the things that a parent of a school going child needs to do is to label, label, label. There are many ways to create a label. You can buy plain stickers and write on them. You can buy stickers with your child's name personalized from a sticker booth, store or online shop. You can write on pieces of papers, write your child's name and stick them on with double sided tape.

How To Apply For MyKad Or IC For 12 Year Old In Malaysia

In the blink of an eye my child is 12 years old. Time really flies. My girl turned 12 in May but we didn't have time to apply for her IC then so we left it till now. Anyway, here is the procedure. It is very simple especially if you are the parent accompanying the child.

Go to the nearest JPN (Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara) with your child. You will need to bring along original copies of your own IC and the birth certificate of your child. You do not need to photocopy these documents. The original copy is all that is required.

Collect the application form at the counter and fill it up and take a number. Once your number is called, proceed to the counter with your original documents. Digital thumbprints will be taken for both you and your child. The photograph for the IC or MyKad is taken right there and then on the spot at the counter itself.

That's it. You're done. You can collect your IC in 3 working days. The picture below shows the flowchart of the process which I took from the JPN at Jalan Duta.

As for the fee, you will not have to pay any fee if you apply for the IC within 30 days from the date your child turns 12. Otherwise, you will need to pay a processing fee of RM10 and a compound of RM1 for the first year and higher for subsequent years but not much. You have up to age 16 to apply for the IC.

This post is only for parents applying for IC. If you are a guardian, one who is related like a grandparent or sibling, or an unrelated guardian, or if you are living overseas, you may need extra documentation.

Here is the JPN website for Permohonan MyKad Bagi Kanak-Kanak 12 Tahun or the procedure on how to apply for MyKad For 12 Year olds. You can read up the details or any changes from this link.

Flowchart for MyKad Application

A Review Of The Baidu Translation App With Image Recognition

As a learner of Chinese as a second language (my first language is English although I am a Chinese), I have been searching for a free translation tool that translates from Chinese to English and back and supports audio and image recognition. I found it in the Baidu Translation App.

The Baidu Translation App translates images in 4 ways. They are:

1. Word
2. Snapshot
3. Screen
4 Object

Simply swipe your fingers across to move from Word, Snapshot, Screen or Object Translation.

This is how they work.

1. In Word Translation - Snap a picture of a word or phrase and Baidu will translate it for you. This is quite accurate. See the little lock at the bottom? At first, I thought this function was off limits to me unless I pay for it but that is not the case. Press the button to lock the function, aim your camera at the word or phrase you want, then press the button again to unlock and get your translation. 

You can hear the audio of the word or press the lines you see at the bottom right of the translation for further information. Further information includes the pinyin for the word.

2. In Snapshot Translation - You take a snapshot of the word, phrase, sentence or paragraph which you want to translate, circle to highlight it and the Baidu app will translate that for you.

Here is my snapshot. After taking a snapshot, I circle the part, I want to translate with my finger. Then I click the "tick" at the bottom to get my translation.

The Baidu Translation App translate the parts I circled for me, providing me with the original words as well as the translated version. Of course when it comes to translation of whole paragraphs of words, the translation is not 100% accurate but you get enough of it to understand what the passage means.

In Screen Translation - At first you lock the screen by clicking the lock button, you point your screen to a part of the passage you wish to translate. There is no need to take a picture of it, translation is done instantaneously and over the words you wish to translate. However, if you have a long passage, translation takes a bit more time. Simply shake the screen to remove the translation and move it to another part of the passage to get a new translation. Again, translation of entire passages is never 100% accurate but it is good enough to help you understand the passage.

Finally, in Object Translation - You take a picture of the object, circle the object you wish to have translated with your finger and click the sign "tick". This translation is hit and miss. You do get accurate ones at times but most of the time, the translator gets it wrong. It does give you a lot of laughs though. We take pictures of each other and my boy was translated as a film star or musician, while my girl was a prince and I was a hairstylist. Here are some other object translations we did. The translator gives you a few options you can choose from as you can see from the light bulb keychain example. Poor Hello Kitty was translated as a pig while the colorful Geronimo Stilton storybook was translated as a baby crawling pad.

In addition to the above translation modes, it also translates common expressions and acts as a dictionary.

This translation app is also useful for those who are travelling abroad and need a quick translator or interpreter on their phones. It  has a conversation  translation mode. Just tap to speak and the app translates your conversation for you. Very useful indeed for travelling.

Languages available at the point of writing include English, Japanese, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Korean, Cantonese, French, Spanish, Thai, Arabic, Russian and Portuguese. However, you will have to try to see whether translation from one of these languages to another is supported as not all two way translation between these languages are fully supported yet.

My verdict? I am keeping this download in addition to my Google Translate app. It is definitely useful for me as I do not know Chinese but I have two Chinese School going kids.

Where to download Baidu Translate:

1. Baidu Translate for Apple ios devices including both iPhone and iPad in iTunes

Sorry for Android users, at the moment the link to the Baidu Translate app for Android appears to be a broken link. You can do a search here at Google Play Store to see whether a new link turns up later on.

Matching Girl And Doll Dresses

For every little girl who loves dolls, having one that dresses up in the same dress as her is a dream. I am sure a doll with matching girl and doll clothes will be on the wishlist of many little girls this Christmas. They will also make good gifts for birthdays and just for fun.

Recognizing this, a company called Dollie & Me came up with a line of matching dresses for girl's and their dolls. I just love this concept and I love the dress options at Dollie & Me! The variety of garments for girl and doll for playing, partying, and even sleeping is amazing. The miniature doll garments look exactly like the girl's dress and are so cute and adorable!

In 2009, Dollie & Me collaborated with Madame Alexander to create more affordable 18 inch dolls for its line of doll and girl's matching clothing so you can find cheaper 18" dolls to wear these matching doll and girl garments.

This post features a whole range of Dollie & Me matching girl dresses with matching doll garments. I hope you enjoy browsing and find something delightful to surprise a little girl.

These party dresses look too good on a doll but never too cool for a little girl.

Free Printable 2013 Calendar For Kids

I can't believe the end of the year is almost upon us. I was browsing in the bookshop and saw 2012 calendars and diaries being sold. That reminds me, it is time to teach the kids to be more organized by giving them their own 2012 calendar. If you are a parent looking for a free printable 2013 calendar for kids, then let me walk you through some favorites of mine.

Free Printable 2013 Monthly And Yearly Calendar For Kids

CreativeMama.com has got a super cute free printable 2013 kawaii calendar for kids. You can go to her blog to download the free printable 2013 calendar or view a few more free 2013 calendar designs for kids on her site including a 2013 Doodle Write-in calendar, a 2013 one page calendar and printable weekly as well as daily planners for kids. The above screen shot of the kawaii 2013 printable kids calendar is a  month to month 2013 calendar. She has a different design for each month. I like the September 2013 Calendar the best. 

iMOM.com has a free printable month to month 2013 calendar for kids. The design for each month correspond with the seasons and festive celebrations of the year including Valentines for February 2013 calendar, Christmas theme calendar for December 2013, an umbrella and April showers for April 2013 calendar and more The calendar designs are simple and very sweet for kids. Head over to iMOM to view and download the month to month children's 2013 calendars.

HelloCuteness.com is giving out free printable calanders for the last year in 2013. After that you will only be able to get premium calendars from the site. Premium calendars are text editable and you can select either weekly or monthly calendars for the premium one. Since it is the last year you will get the free downloadable kids calendar for 2013, head on over to Hello Cuteness to check out her theme for each theme. The one I like the most is the Partying Candy Corns for October 2013 Calendar. They are too cute!

Free Arts And Crafts For Children has a whole range of 2013 free printable calendar for kids. I found over 15 choices available just for the printable January 2013 calendar! Besides monthly calendars you will also find free yearly 2013 calendars you can download and print for your kids.

Free Printable Personalized 2013 Calendar For Kids

ShiningMom.com has shared some free printable 2013 Disney Characters Calendars for kids. However, she has taken it one step further by sharing with you some tips on how to make your own personalized 2013 kids calendar using your own image. Great sharing. It will be a fun activity you can do with your kids.

Free Printables.com has lots of choices of 2013 calendars you can personalize by adding your own text and images before printing. You will find 2013 Hello Kitty Calendars, 2013 Disney Cars Calendar, 2013 Monster High Calendars and many other 2013 Calendars which you can customize and print both monthly and yearly calendars.

I hope you find these free printable calendar for kids resources useful. What other resources would you like to see? Share them in the comments and I will try to get a post out for you.

Updated On 29 September 2014

I just created two free printable calendars for kids for the month of October 2014. You can find them here:

1. Free Printable Calendar For October 2014 - Diwali Theme
2. Free Printable Calendar For October 2014 - Halloween Theme

In addition, I created a Free Printable Calendar For Kids For The Year 2015

2016 Calendars And Planners For Moms. 

(UPDATED FOR 2015-2016) 

Moms, you may need one of these for yourself. They are not free. You can purchase them from Amazon.com. Click on any of the pictures to get the details.

2016 Calendars For Kids

Our Christmas Guides Have Not Been Updated At This Time.

These are my latest shopping guides for Christmas 2012. Click on the image if you have not started your Christmas shopping yet. The gift guide is very comprehensive and will give you lots of ideas for Christmas gifts for the entire family or as Christmas presents for the kids.

Christmas Gift Baskets For Kids plus the following gift guides for kids as well as whole family. Just click on the image to view the gift guide.

No. 1 Dad Trophy

No. 1 Dad Trophy

Father's Day is a week away. Father's Day falls on the 3rd Sunday of June. This means that this year 2012, Father's Day will fall on 17th June, 2012. That is usually around my birthday so I sometimes get to celebrate in a big way with all the members of my family who are Fathers. This year for Father's Day, the kids and I designed a No 1 Dad Trophy, Happy Father's Day Card or design for our CafePress Shop.

It is really nice to have the kids home for the holidays and to be able to do creative things together with the kids. Apart from this #1 Dad trophy design, we also printed out printable Father's Day Greeting Cards and Father's Day Bookmarks to make for dad. I encouraged the kids to write poems in their card for dad. I wonder what they wrote.

Designing Cards help them to be creative while writing poems on the cards help them learn the English language in an interesting and fun manner. In school, all they learn is Chinese. Their English is so neglected. Well, that is the down side of sending the kids to a Chinese School. As a parent, I have to make sure that I balance it up by teaching them English myself. It is not easy with what little time we have after school. School holidays is the best time to learn by doing fun projects like this No 1 Dad Trophy design for cards, mugs, T-shirts, buttons and more.

Kids can design too. The kids were so thrilled to see their design on mugs, hats, calendars, notebooks, T-shirts and more.

Happy Father's Day No 1 Dad Mug

Happy Father's Day No 1 Dad Mug

Happy Father's Day No 1 Dad Trophy Button

Happy Father's Day No 1 Dad Trophy Button
(Great for Father's Day parties, one for each dad attending)

Happy Father's Day No 1 Dad Trophy Trucker Hat

Happy Father's Day No 1 Dad Trophy Trucker Hat

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL FATHER WHO VISIT THIS BLOG OR HAPPEN TO BE PASSING BY. :)

21 Easter Activities For Kids

I came across this free e-book 21 Easter Activities for Kids when I was browsing through my free e-books list from Free e-Books.net and want to recommend this timely book to you.

First, let me tell you a little about Free e-Books.net. Free e-Books.net is   a place where I get free e-Books by rising authors and independant writers. Both fiction and non-fiction books are available, from self-help and parenting to business and technology. I am subscribed to their newsletter so I get free e-Books reviews and links delivered to my e-mail. I also have the Free e-Books.net app on my mobile phone so I can read my free e-Books on the go.

When I have time, I will browse around to find books that appeal to me. Usually I can preview the books before I download. Books can be downloaded in html, pdf, ePub and Mobipocket. The last two formats are only available to VIP members. All members can download books in pdf for free anytime for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Free members can access all books, same as VIP members. The only difference is VIP members can download in ePub and Mobipocket formats. These formats are not available to free members.

Get unlimited access to Free e-Books

Free members can download up to 5 free books a month whereas VIP members have Unlimited Downloads of Free e-Books, on all mobile formats so you can read on your  Amazon Kindle, BN Nook, SONY Ebook Reader, Apple iPad or Android devices, have first access to new books, priority customer support and the ability to save favourite titles online.

I love Free e-Books.net because I love to read. I also believe that e-Books is the new way of reading. It is instant and can be read on the go, saves paper as well as storage space. I've really run out of space on my bookshelf but my digital bookshelf never runs out of space. I've been thinking of writing an e-Book myself because I'd like to offer the readers to my many blogs a different way of reading my materials. Sadly, I don't have time to do it now but hopefully I will have more time to work on this one day.

E-Books - The Way Forward

Sometimes I find gems among the free eBooks. Today, I'd like to introduce you to this timely free eBook called 21 Easter Activities for Kids. It is available for free download. This book has suggestions for 21 fun Easter Activities you can do with your kids at home including Easter Bowling, Easter Bingo, Easter Egg Toss, Easter Relays, Easter Throwing Competition and more. These are fun ideas. My only grouse is you can't actually download some of the printables. You'd have to go to the author's website to get the printables which are available by purchase only. Still, you can find some nice Easter Game Ideas for kids in the book. Why not check it out? It's free for download.

How to download 21 Free Easter Activities for Kids for free. 

To claim your free e-Book, go to 21 Free Activities for Kids. To search for more books go to Free e-Books.net, you will notice a search box right  under the Free e-Books.net logo. Once you find the book you want, download it to your computer or get the android or apple iOS app to download on your mobile. You can browse the categories or do a direct search for any other genre or title you like. Enjoy!

Learning Chinese App for Android and iPhone

I am constantly on the lookout for ways to help my kids and myself learn Chinese Mandarin. I was searching the Android Market which is now called Google Play incidentally and was very pleased to find this Learning Chinese App. It helps me and my kids learn and practise our Mandarin through the use of a dictionary and flashcards.

How I find it useful:

My son and daughter have weekly "ting xie" (Chinese Writing/Spelling) in school. They also learn new words and terms frequently. Sometimes they have to learn to make sentences using the new Chinese Words and Phrases that they learned. I get very frustrated whenever my son comes to me and asks me to help him construct a sentence using a two worded Chinese Phrase because I don't know how. This TrainChinese app (that's the name for the app by the way) includes a dictionary that gives a couple of useful sentence examples. We  can use those to help us think of sentences to write. The Chinese dictionary can be used offline as well which is great because I don't always have wifi.

What I like best is the flashcards. I can have a 20 word list (either taken randomly or by choice) from the trainchinese site or I can make my own list. I can make my own list using the words that the kids learn in their Chinese Writing lessons. Then we can train in 4 ways.

1. Reading - Look at Chinese Characters, Phrase or Simple Sentence, then read it. Turn the flashcard around by tapping and the pinyin and meaning in English will be revealed or tap the speaker to check your pronunciation
2. Writing - Listen to the audio and look at the pinyin of given words. Then use your fingers to write out the Chinese Character. Turn the flashcard around and you can check your writing against the actual, then play the animation to see how the word should be written step by step. What my kids love about this step is the animation of the Chinese Character Stroke is played beside their own Chinese writing  which has been animated too so they can check their own stroke order against the actual Chinese Stroke Order. It's really cool to learn Chinese this way.
3. Translation - Translate a given English word, phrase or Sentence to Chinese. Turn the flashcard around by tapping and see the pinyin and English translation
4. Listening - Listen to an audio of a Chinese word or phrase, then give its meaning. The flashcard will be blank as you listen. Turn the flashcard around and the Chinese Characters, pinyin and meaning will be revealed.

You have to mark your own answers and set your own passing conditions.

You can test out this application as its free to download. At the moment I am using it to make lists from my the new words my son learns at school. Then he can practise it anytime in this cool manner. At the moment we can make 25 free flashcards a week, which will go down to 15 then 10 per week for free users. However you can buy subscription time (3 months to lifetime) and/or flashcard lists (from 1000 cards to unlimited number). Prices range start from $15.99 onwards.

This application can be used on any desktop with Windows, Mac or Linus, on iPhone, iPod or iPad and on Android. It includes audio and stroke animation.

I think this Chinese Flashcards app is a wonderful application for anyone learning Chinese as well as for parents like me who do not know Chinese but needs to give assistance to their child who is learning Chinese.

Free Printable School Timetable For Kids

My son lost his school timetable again for the second time this week. As for my girl, her school timetable looks like an old crumpled rotten leaf. So I told the kids "Children, for this school holiday project, we will be making new timetables using the computer." "Yay!" they said. My kids are so deprived of play from their daily homework load that even making timetables sound good to them.

So, I hunted around for some free printable school timetables for kids. Here's what I found.

1. A printable timetable from How To Fix Anything which is also a downloadable excel school timetable.
2. A printable weekly class schedule from Microsoft Office Templates, also in excel format. (small timetable)
3. A very simple class schedule template from Vertex42.com in excel and pdf too. (15 minute schedules)
4. A blank timetable from Monash.edu.au in .doc format (Nice big, clear and white)
5. Another blank weekly timetable template from BlankCalander.org in .jpg, .pdf or .doc formats (Half hour schedules)
6. Free Weekly Timetable Schedule Template in Excel from MyExcelTemplates (Nice soothing blue)

We love these organizers for managing school stuff and keeping us sane!




So many free printable templates in various formats, .doc, .jpg, .pdf or .excel. Just take your pick.

However my most favorite one of all is this ABC Timetable Download. Unfortunately it does not support Chinese. It is freeware. You have to download the zip file and extract it before use. Then you can create and print school timetables or timetables for other activities in various design, colors and fonts. Just select the number of days, enter your times and subjects then save for later reuse and printout as many copies as you like. I am certainly going to do that before more school timetables get lost in my house and I lose my voice from shouting at the kids for losing their timetables. Here is a screenshot of the ABC Timetable.

I like this Daily Schedule Pocket Chart by Scholastics for young kids too. Unfortunately this one is not free but I am including it here because I love it. It comes with full color photo cards including 10 subject cards, 5 blank cards and 1 title cards plus a 2-page activity guide.

Updated November 2014: Here is another free printable calendar for school going kids in particularly grade school children. The above are from what I found online. Below is what I created based on my children's own template for their school timetable. I did one for boys and one for girls. Here is the download link for the free printable blank timetable for school children.

Free Printable Timetable For School Children

Turning a hobby into a job

Have you ever considered blogging as a side job or becoming a freelance graphic artist or website designer or freelance photographer or teaching part time? If that dream seemed impossible at one time, it is now much easier with the internet and the way the job hiring scene has changed.

With the internet, now you can turn your hobby into a career easily. However, in order to do that, you must first be found. You can market yourself on many social networking sites these days but in addition to that you should also promote and market your skills on a social employment and networking site. You can post your resume in these sites where potential employers can find  you. These tools are around and available to you so make use of them. Payment is very much easier now too. Everything can be done online.

I never thought it possible before but now I have turned blogging into a part-time job for me. Through blogging, I also get to market my freelance writing skills and by using online tools that are available to me, I have  managed to market and promote my writing skills and turned my favorite hobby which is writing, into a job.

What about you? What is your hobby? Have you ever considered turning it into a career or making it earn some side income for you or are you still stuck in a job that you don't love.

Adorable Halloween Costumes For Infants and Toddlers

It is really fun to dress up sweet infants and adorable little Toddlers. So when an occasion like Halloween is celebrated, you can go right ahead and dress your cute little infant and toddlers up in various styles made just for Infants and Toddlers. Here are some Super Cute and Adorable Halloween Costumes for Toddlers and Infants.

Baby Infant Monster Costume
Toddler, Baby or Infant will look extremely adorable in this too Cute Monster Costume.

Add caption

Paper Magic Angry Birds Infant Costume
"I want to be Angry Bird, Mama". This one is more suitable for babies and infants. However older kids who wish to dress up as Angry Birds can choose from any of these Angry Bird Costume for Kids. Red bird, Yellow Bird, Blue, Green or Black Bird. Dress up the entire body or just wear the Angry Bird Hat. The Angry Bird Costumes are extremely cute for this Halloween.

This INFANT Too Cute To Spook Vampire Costume will adore everyone. No one will mind meeting this vampire. In fact, they just might want to hug and kiss this vampire.

You will want to take lots of pictures of your little one in this Infant Pumpkin Cutie Pie Costume. This Pumpkin Costume yells out Halloween more than any other costume for toddlers.

 You will want to cuddle this soft and warm baby in the Baby Girls Lamb Costume for sure. This infant costume is so warm, sweet and adorable.

Most kids can identify with cute character based costumes. I am sure most kids will recognize this Toy Story Infant Alien Classic Costume. It is really cute too.

The little ones, they grow up so fast. I didn't take the opportunity to dress up my little ones in cute costumes like these when I had the chance. Now, I wish I had plus taken lots and lots of photos for keepsakes too! Kids are only this age once. In no time, they'll be all grown and there won't be another chance to dress up your child in adorable costumes like these. Happy Halloween!

Hari Raya Crafts for Kids

I love how you can teach kids about culture and the different cultural celebrations through crafting. Here are some Hari Raya Crafts for our muslim friends. Living in a multi-racial society, not only muslim friends will enjoy these crafts, most kids will and it is a good way to teach them about other cultures.

Hari Raya Crafts:

Make a ketupat, Make a Hari Raya Card, Make a Ramadan Lamp Craft and more can be found at Kiddyhouse.com. I love the crafts from this site the best. In addition, it is a great site for teaching kids about the Muslim culture and Hari Raya celebrations with Ramadan activities, Ramadan Songs, and other Ramadan information. There are also external links to Animated Hari Raya e-Cards, Stories and coloring pages for Muslim kids.

Prayer Rug Greeting Cards and Ramadan Windsock from Yemen Links - You can find printable step by step instructions with pictures here. Lovely.

Ramadan Mobile, Gratitude Tree, Kids Crafts and more can be found at Ramdan Joy Crafts

From Crayola you can find some Ramadan inspired art like the Curving Calligraphy, Star and Moon Mobile, Personal Rug Patterns and Spirals on Paper Plates.

Ramadan Mosaic Sun Catcher from Highlightkids.com

Do check these sites out. They are all great in fun and creative factor! 

Happy Ramadan or as they say here in Malaysia Selamat Hari Raya!